Extensions and custom buttons for UXP browsers - Corrections, modifications, adjustments, and special recommendations

[UCyborg]

I'm not sure about the soundness of Speedometer's methodology, that's all. First result that comes for cross-platform benchmark is Geekbench. The download page doesn't mention Linux version for ARM processors, but this page says it was used for benchmarking, must be still a preview version.

I see Reddit Enhancement Suite wasn't mentioned yet, must have for Reddit users (old.reddit.com of course). It can be found in Classic Add-ons Archive, Reddit says version 5.4.3 works with Pale Moon. The next version 5.6.0 craps out. Still rather old (because who gives a s*** about supporting obscure browser), but the basics still work.

Edited September 23, 2024 by UCyborg

[UCyborg]

On 9/22/2024 at 2:53 PM, NotHereToPlayGames said:

Your problem is XUL.  And no, a new computer will not fix that underlying issue.

Why do you feel you "need" XUL?  Sure, I "miss it" but I never really "needed" it, per se.

On 9/22/2024 at 6:18 PM, UCyborg said:

Eye candy just feels good psychologically. It behaved that way since forever, though only realized recently it's connected to those icons.

You're right though, none of these XUL bells and whistles are really needed per se. None whatsoever are needed to access web content. But then why do we bother with tweaking our browsers (or operating systems)? We could just go with default minimal setup.

Is it all just distraction from the otherwise bleak existence?

Quote

Human life must be some kind of mistake. The truth of this will be sufficiently obvious if we only remember that man is a compound of needs and necessities hard to satisfy; and that even when they are satisfied, all he obtains is a state of painlessness, where nothing remains to him but abandonment to boredom. This is direct proof that existence has no real value in itself; for what is boredom but the feeling of the emptiness of life? If life—the craving for which is the very essence of our being—were possessed of any positive intrinsic value, there would be no such thing as boredom at all: mere existence would satisfy us in itself, and we should want for nothing.

Arthur Schopenhauer, Studies in Pessimism: The Essays

[AstroSkipper]

Tab Utilities Phoenix 2.1.2 seems to have been interfering with the native session manager in New Moon 28 for some time. The current session is no longer restored correctly after (re)starting the browser. When disabling Tab Utilities Phoenix, the native session restore function seems to work again as before. Can anyone confirm this? 

Edited October 2, 2024 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[AstroSkipper]

On 10/2/2024 at 1:33 AM, AstroSkipper said:

Tab Utilities Phoenix 2.1.2 seems to have been interfering with the native session manager in New Moon 28 for some time. The current session is no longer restored correctly after (re)starting the browser. When disabling Tab Utilities Phoenix, the native session restore function seems to work again as before. Can anyone confirm this? 

Same applies to the extension Speed Dial 0.9.6.18. It makes the internal session manager unusable in New Moon 28. Even the Session Manager extension can no longer help. So, it seems that the changes to the browser code are sending further, old but well-known extensions into retirement for good. The Tab Utilities,the Speed Dial and partly the Session Manager extension are no longer fully compatible with New Moon 28 (and also most probably with Pale Moon).

Edited October 3, 2024 by AstroSkipper

[NotHereToPlayGames]

7 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

it seems that the changes to the browser code are sending further, old but well-known extensions into retirement for good.

Agreed!  Agreed!  Agreed!  I had this problem (ression restore broken but only with a specific "Photonic" theme) in Serpent 52.

Photonic theme should not break the session restore feature of Serpent 52 - but it DOES in "newer" versions of Serpent 52.

I have opted to intentionally leave my Serpent 52 at 2023-07-31 because session restore WORKS in that version, regardless of what extensions or themes I throw at it.

2023-07-31 became my "end of the line" for Serpent 52.  Use it DAILY for text messaging.  My XP (Acer Aspire One POS) has had to resort to Mypal 68 but even it hasn't exactly restored "life" to that POS.

So YEAH, I'm glad that you have found "more" because when I cited my Photonic theme breaking session restore, that discussion only "ended" in folks citing that session restore works in newer Serpent 52 without any extensions (duh, that wasn't the issue).

[AstroSkipper]

2 hours ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

Agreed!  Agreed!  Agreed!  I had this problem (ression restore broken but only with a specific "Photonic" theme) in Serpent 52.

Personally, I do not use any complete themes in UXP browsers but they have always been responsible for problems. Without regular theme updates, they don't really make sense. And these no longer exist.

2 hours ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

So YEAH, I'm glad that you have found "more" because when I cited my Photonic theme breaking session restore, that discussion only "ended" in folks citing that session restore works in newer Serpent 52 without any extensions (duh, that wasn't the issue).

When using the most recent releases of UXP browsers without these problematic extensions I reported in my previous posts, the internal, native session restore function is actually working properly. So you don't have to stick with old UXP browser versions.

Edited October 3, 2024 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[NotHereToPlayGames]

10 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

So, it seems that the changes to the browser code are sending further, old but well-known extensions into retirement for good.

 

1 hour ago, AstroSkipper said:

So you don't have to stick with old UXP browser versions.

 

To me, these two statements contradict each other.

But yes, all hinges on "constant ad nauseum updates that is a full time job to keep up with" and many/most extensions pertinent to UXP Era are no longer maintained.

[AstroSkipper]

6 minutes ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

10 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

So, it seems that the changes to the browser code are sending further, old but well-known extensions into retirement for good.

 

1 hour ago, AstroSkipper said:

So you don't have to stick with old UXP browser versions.

 

To me, these two statements contradict each other.

Not at all.  UXP browsers are evolving, but many old extensions are not. Conclusio ultima: These old extensions must be adapted or can otherwise no longer be used. Same applies to old, complete themes which are no longer compatible.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

2 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

Conclusio ultima: These old extensions must be adapted or can otherwise no longer be used.

Then why this ping to Roytam?  Rhetorical question.  Any answer will likely be seen as "talking out of both sides of your mouth".  No worries, "carry on".

Edited October 3, 2024 by NotHereToPlayGames

[AstroSkipper]

18 minutes ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

Then why this ping to Roytam?  Rhetorical question.

Although your question is of rhetorical nature, I just want to understand what happened. The reported extensions worked for many years properly. So what is the cause for their sudden breakage?

Edited October 3, 2024 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[NotHereToPlayGames]

4 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

So what is the cause for their sudden breakage?

Works for me.  I'm curious as well.  What is breaking for those extensions is very likely the same root-cause for certain themes to also break.

[UCyborg]

On 10/3/2024 at 1:37 AM, AstroSkipper said:

(and also most probably with Pale Moon)

I cannot get ReferenceError: nsIWebNavigation is not defined in Pale Moon when closing tab, only NM28.

Also can't break built-in session restore in either browser with all three extensions loaded, though I'm not sure what specifically to look for. The tabs I saved come back.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

1 hour ago, UCyborg said:

though I'm not sure what specifically to look for. The tabs I saved come back.

Try killing/terminating from Task Manager / Process Explorer / Process Hacker instead.

[UCyborg]

I get this then:

My usual sessions are very crowded, but this simple recovery scenario seems to work.

This is with following When New Moon starts setting, though it doesn't seem likely that it matters:

If I have it set to showing home page, then Session Manager replaces newly created home page session on launch with selected session. However, the browser window doesn't open with setting on the screenshot above until Session Manager dialog is dismissed.

Only these extension were loaded:

[AstroSkipper]

1 hour ago, UCyborg said:

I cannot get ReferenceError: nsIWebNavigation is not defined in Pale Moon when closing tab, only NM28.

Also can't break built-in session restore in either browser with all three extensions loaded, though I'm not sure what specifically to look for. The tabs I saved come back.

I can't really say whether the problem also occurs in Pale Moon (32-bit or 64-bit ), as I don't use this browser. It was also just a guess. In any case, the Speed Dial 0.9.6.18 and Tab Utilities 2.1.2 extensions in the latest New Moon 28 32-bit release definitely break the session restore function on my Windows XP system. The Session Manager extension only generates some errors in the Browser Console but is still working so far.